Two McCord Stewart Museum exhibitions honoured at the 2024 Canadian Museums Association Awards.

Montreal, May 1, 2024 – The McCord Stewart Museum is pleased to announce that the exhibition Wampum: Beads of Diplomacy—developed and co-produced with the musée du quai Branly–Jacques Chirac in Paris—has been awarded the Canadian Museums Association (CMA) Outstanding Achievement Award for Social Impact. This award recognizes the significant contribution of a museum in advocating for the advancement of an important social cause such as reconciliation, sustainable development, climate action, better standards of living together, inclusiveness, wellness, etc. (CMA webiste) The quality of Karen Tam’s exhibition Swallowing Mountains was also recognized by the CMA jury with an honourable mention in the Exhibitions category. These two awards attest to the Museum’s efforts to produce multi-faceted, unifying exhibitions that amplify the voices of historically marginalized communities, and thus raise public awareness of various social issues.

Wampum: Beads of Diplomacy – Outstanding Achievement Award in the Social Impact category

The exhibition Wampum: Beads of Diplomacy brought together 40 wampum belts under the same roof—a first since museums began collecting them—and illuminated for the public the key role that wampum played in diplomacy in northeastern North America for over 200 years. Most importantly, it provided an opportunity for exceptional encounters between these wampum belts and representatives of their source nations.

“Beyond disseminating historical and scientific knowledge surrounding wampum, it was vital that the presentation of an unprecedented number of these objects be meaningful and relevant to members of today’s Indigenous communities. Thanks to the efforts, dedication and creativity of the Museum’s entire team, First Nations people have been able to reconnect with their cultural and political heritage, which can otherwise be difficult to access since it is scattered among several museums. New links have been forged between First Nations people and museum institutions in Canada, the United States, France and Italy. Once again, wampum has brought people and nations together,” says Jonathan Lainey, Senior Curator of the Montreal exhibition and Curator of Indigenous Cultures at the McCord Stewart Museum.

“This first major exhibition devoted to wampum belts would never have been possible without the close collaboration between the Museum and the Musée du quai Branly–Jacques Chirac, or without the remarkable support of individuals, communities and institutions from Quebec, Canada and abroad, who agreed to share their knowledge and the fruits of their research, or to part with these exceptional cultural assets for a few months. We are grateful to them for their trust, which reflects the Museum’s efforts over many years to position itself as a site for dialogue with Indigenous nations,” says Anne Eschapasse, President and CEO of the Museum.

“This award pays tribute to the wonderful collaborative spirit under which the exhibition was created and continues to exist, as part of the CRoyAN project. The close ties created between the source communities, the McCord Stewart Museum, the Musée du quai Branly–Jacques Chirac and all the stakeholders made it possible to revive the traditional purpose of wampum: to facilitate dialogue, exchange, relationships. The Musée du quai Branly–Jacques Chirac is very please to have been able to work alongside the McCord Stewart Museum to present this esthetically, historically and scientifically significant exhibition,” says Emmanuel Kasarhérou, President of the Musée du quai Branly–Jacques Chirac in Paris.

Press release – Wampum: beads of diplomacy exhibition

An honourable mention for Swallowing Mountains

Karen Tam’s Swallowing Mountains received an honourable mention in the Exhibitions category, which recognizes temporary, permanent, or traveling exhibitions that effectively and distinctively contribute to increase public understanding, for the aptness of the new co-creative approach that she adopted. (CMA website) At the start of the project, a call to members of Montreal’s Chinese community made it possible to assemble an impressive corpus of photographs and objects. The result was unquestionably compelling: juxtaposing objects that tell a family story when considered individually, but which, when brought together, tell the story of a community. Swallowing Mountains was an opportunity to explore, and above all to better understand, the reality, history and considerable contribution of Chinese Canadians to the history of Montreal, Quebec and Canada.

“One of my main goals with this exhibition was to bring different communities into the space. Not just the Chinese diaspora, but other groups who will reflect on the hidden narratives of their own community, or the contributions women in their community have made to Montreal. The generosity of the individuals and groups who have shared their family photos and treasures, and who have come to visit the exhibition on multiple occasions with friends and family, combined with the love and care that the team at the McCord Stewart Museum has shown me during our collaboration, has been instrumental in bringing the project to life and that has gone beyond the walls of the museum,” says Karen Tam.

“This exhibition reminded us of the dark chapter of the Chinese Immigration Act that banned Chinese immigration to Canada for nearly 25 years, while paying tribute to the resilience of the women of Montreal’s Chinatown over the past century and a half. This project fully illustrates the role of artists and cultural institutions in transmitting social history, which is a powerful vector for raising awareness of social issues, including the fight against racism and all forms of discrimination,” says Anne Eschapasse, President and CEO, McCord Stewart Museum, Montreal.

Press release – Swallowing Mountains by Karen Tam